I should, rather, call this an end of Sand & Stone, instead of the end, because really, when you think about it, stories don't have concrete beginnings or endings. It's just us, the observers and creators, who happen to pick up the thread at a particular moment in time, and let it go at another moment in time. The stories had been going on -- and will still go on -- long before and after that.

After all, if you really want to look into the crystal ball, we could ask how so-and-so characters met, or where he or she will go on from here, or about the scenes hidden from our sight. What was he/she really thinking? And why? Questions, like stories, will always go on. This, however, is just a snippet of our characters' sometimes tumultuous, always offbeat lives. And what a snippet it is (three seasons? Four years? Whew!).

I've always had a set beginning, middle, and ending to tell of Sand & Stone. The characters might have surprised me and twisted and turned every now and then, but for the most part, this is what I've wanted to say and show, and I'm glad many of you have been with me throughout the seasons.

To all loyal Sand & Stone readers who were with me all the way -- thank you.

To new readers discovering this completed comic for the first time -- welcome.

Whether you've sent me feedback with each and every strip, or if you've quietly laughed and sniffled from your end of the world, your readership has rocked my little drawing-pad. I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have.

Winner of 2005 Tartie Award for, and I quote, Most Bizarrely Benign Relationship Between a Group of Incorrigibly Trouble-prone Underage Humans and an Eccentric Gang of Racketeering Demons. (*grin*) The Tarties are awesome.